Waqf JPC accepts all of NDA's amendments, rejects Oppn's

JPC'S APPROVAL OF THE AMENDMENTS SETS STAGE FOR INTRODUCTION OF BILL IN UPCOMING BUDGET SESSION

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) approved 14 amendments to the Waqf (Amendments) bill by a majority on Monday (16 votes to 10), controversially rejecting all amendments put forth by members from opposition parties, and accepting those put forth by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies.

JPC chief and senior BJP law maker Jagdambika Pal claimed that "amendments adopted by the committee will make the law better and more effective." One of the amendments, tabled by BJP's Nishikant Dubey, offers major relief to existing waqf properties. It says that the provision of "waqf by user" will remain applicable for current properties and can't be questioned on the grounds of the new law scrapping this.

"Waqf by user" refers to a category where a property is acknowledged as waqf because it has been used for religious activities for some time, despite there being no official declaration of it or a registration as waqf.

"Provided that the existing waqf use by user properties registered on or before the commencement of Waqf (Amendment) Act 2024 as waqf by user will remain as waqf properties except that the property, wholly or in part, is in dispute or is a government property," Dubey's amendment said.

Functionaries added that the BJP lawmaker's amendment aims to cater to the basic principle that laws should not have retrospective effect.

Another amendment moved by Dubey aims to bring a new proviso in the principal Act that "Provided further that nothing in this Act shall, notwithstanding any judgement, decree or order of any court, apply to a trust (by whatever name called) established before or after the commencement of this Act or statutorily regulated by any statutory provision pertaining to public charities, by a Muslim for purposes similar to a Waqf under any law for the time being in force."